So there I was...

So there I was...

minding my own business while driving down interstate 85 after dropping my son off at the Atlanta airport, when my car felt as if something war trying
to tear it apart.
That ISN'T a good feeling when one is travelling at 150 km/h, I assure you.
I release the gas peddle and start looking around to figure what the problem is, and when I look at the sideview mirror I see chunks of what was the
remains of my tire tread flying all over the road behind me. The tread had separated from the tire.

Here's the bad thing about this, I was going to buy four new tires next week. While there was still plenty of tread left, they were well over the
60,000 mile warranty and were showing signs of cracking and age. Because I procrastinated, I will now have to buy;
a new front/left fender
a new front bumper cover
a new lower Taurus SE molding
a new paint job

...and a new set of tires.

There's a moral to the story somewhere.

By Thomas_Crowne:
posted on 14-8-2006

Wow!
You mean you got a Taurus up to 150km/h!!!

At least you got out without needing any medical treatment, that could be more expensive tha the car repairs :)

By netchicken:
posted on 14-8-2006

Why would I need Z's when H's are more than sufficient for my speeds.

The rating wasn't the problem, the age of the tires coupled with procrastination was. The glaring failures on my part were already spelled out!

:ws back atcha! :j

Any tire will separate when it gets too old and has many hard-driven miles on it.

Netty, my car is governed by Ford Motor Company at 177 km/h and you can tell it is very disappointed when it hits that point. The Taurus is a very
good interstate car!

By Thomas_Crowne:
posted on 14-8-2006

Hey, if you get Netty to make one of those, please ask him to make me an "I'm a procrastinating Moron Who Needlessly Throws Money Away!" sign.

By Thomas_Crowne:
posted on 14-8-2006

A Ford Taurus at 150km/hr ? That's about 95 mph on a TAURUS! Do you plan to junk this car soon ? or do you have a good buy back option ?

That kind of punishment is meant for a corvette or a roadster not a Taurus, not that it cant do it but safety issues generally scare people off. Plus
you say you have old tires, that just triple the danger! You are extremely lucky that it was just one tire and you could stop. Had it been two or more
tires you would be seriously in trouble without being able to stop, this at 95mph is no joke! Did I mention seriously endangering your passengers ?

All Ford Vehicles, for that matter all American cars suffer from a weight problem. They are built so heavy that they call for broader tires and that
leads to greater fuel consumption when you compare them with Japanese or Korean cars. On the other hand their upside is that you have better ride
comfort and better safety.

Bottom line: Dont push it!

By IAF:
posted on 15-8-2006

I never had you pegged for a Asian market car.

Pinko-Commie.

You'd probably be a bit satisfied with my driving training so a lesson in driving is really not necessary.

As far as the Taurus, I am very familiar with that car. I know exactly how it handles and under what conditions it handles in what manner. FYI, the
center of gravity, the weight AND performance suspension parts I had installed makes the vehicle a lot less of a slug than you paint.

As far as any danger, the car didn't leave its lane, and, as a matter of fact, it didn't even as much as wobble within its lane. One of the
prerequisites of having VIP's in a back seat is to be able to handle a vehicle under less than favorable conditions, and HAD anyone been in the car,
they would have been very safe.

The lesson to be learned in this little story was a stitch in time saves nine, and that putting off until tomorrow what can be done today could really
make tomorrow more expensive than it has to be.

By the way, the car has 167k miles on it and I have driven it the same way since I got it. Want to know something else, IAF? When I picked it up it
already had 27k miles on it from being a HERTZ RENTAL! It gets about 28 miles per gallon, which is not bad at all considering that, yes, the car way
a tad over 4,700 pounds. I saw a pic the other day of a Honda that decided to pull in front of a Taurus. The Taurus was in need of a new bumper, the
Honda owner found the opportunity to buy a new vehicle! :sp

Don't talk to me as if I am an untrained igmo and my car is a piece of junk, if you want to try some condescending 'tude, feel free to join my
bandwagon and point out what I obviously know; I need to stop being a procrastinating idiot! :P

By Thomas_Crowne:
posted on 16-8-2006

Good gracious! American cars are built like their owners!

Actually that may have a rung of truth in it. Think of Japanese, or korean cars small, and light, or British cars, slow and asthmatic, or German cars,
well crafted and severe.

All Ford Vehicles, for that matter all American cars suffer from a weight problem. They are built so heavy that they call for broader tires and that
leads to greater fuel consumption when you compare them with Japanese or Korean cars. On the other hand their upside is that you have better ride
comfort and better safety.

Bottom line: Dont push it!

By netchicken:
posted on 16-8-2006

That's it. I shall not take anymore abuse from you pinko-commie bastards without retaliation.

I don't wanna talk to you no more, you empty headed animal food trough wiper! I fart in your general direction! Your mother was a hamster and your
father smelt of elderberries!

I didn't want to stoop to such lows, but there you have it; I have been forced to smacking you both with the Grail!

By Thomas_Crowne:
posted on 16-8-2006

... Quote:

Originally posted by Thomas_Crowne
I never had you pegged for a Asian market car.

Pinko-Commie.

LOL!! No, I dont own asian cars. In fact, I work/used to work as an engineer in a company that serves as a auxillary design unit for the American car
industry( we do a lot of work for Ford mostly! ) here in Detroit :)

... Quote:

Don't talk to me as if I am an untrained igmo and my car is a piece of junk, if you want to try some condescending 'tude, feel free to join my
bandwagon and point out what I obviously know; I need to stop being a procrastinating idiot! :P

Wow!! Thats an earfull !

Well, I never made any assumptions about your skills behind the wheel nor about your knowledge of how a Taurus handles, I am sure your quite adept and
I'm quite glad that you were the sole passager at that time. The Taurus is still a pretty good car, thats why it was such a hit in its time and it
still is one of the best sedans to come out of the Ford stable. But I think you dont get where I'm comming from.

The point of my post was not to demean your skill as a driver or ridicule you and your car but rather to inform you about the seriousness of your
accident and how it could have been much much worse. Now, I'm no scare monger and would hate to make a big deal out of this but from an engineering
standpoint that is the reality as it stands. As you have said a "stich in time saves nine" and you are absolutely correct, had you not
procrastinated you would have saved money but what I'm saying is you're lucky to have got off so easy because losing a tire suddenly is a very
dangerous situation.
I hope you dont take this the wrong way, AGAIN ! ;)

BTW I drive a Touareg.

By IAF:
posted on 20-8-2006

I didn't take it the wrong way the first time, Flyboy! If I hadda, I woulda sent you a private message. Seems maybe I was either not over the top
enough or have some other fault with my goof-o-transducer if you thought I was truly indignant.

You are an engineer? So is my last wife!
Had I known you are an engineer I woulda been using smaller words and more formulas! :guy

Touareg, huh? They are very nice-looking and I hear they handle very well for an SUV.

If I ever get another new vehicle, it'll be more along the lines of the Honda Element (Obvius admission that I was jankin' about the commie thing)
as it has no carpeting and is built more for the needs of the single guy who heads to the beach and stuff. I can just use the leaf blower to get the
sand out when I get home!

By Thomas_Crowne:
posted on 21-8-2006

I have a Subaru Legacy, 4 wheel drive station wagon, very practical beast to have.

Personally I would go for a Subaru Forester, I like the car aspect, cheaper to run, and the 4 wheel drive is handy as well.

When I was in Germany, I hardly ever saw and Japanese cars, all VW's BMW'S Audi's etc etc. But as soon as we went over the border to Switzerland,
there were heaps! Foresters seemed popular there as well.

By netchicken:
posted on 21-8-2006

Talk about luck.

I was headed over to a friend's house today to spend the afternoon discussing politics and religion when the front/right tire blew on the 1972 Ford
Maverick I borrowed from my father while my Bull is in the shop.

I am SICK of tires and car jacks!

By the way, Injuneer; I was doing approximately 64 km/hr, and the car handled about the same. Seems the operator insures there is no danger of
catastrophe, regardless of vehicle or speed!

:P

Now, watch me trip and break my darned neck while headed to the kitchen to bake some fries! :sp

By Thomas_Crowne:
posted on 21-8-2006

Netty, my son was brainwashed to be a die-hard Ford fan, complete to the shirt and cap wardrobe, but after doing some seriousresearch, he has
determined that the best of those types is the Element. That means a LOT coming from a kid that bleeds Ford Blue!
I think it could use a little more horse power, but other than that it seems to be a very nice utility vehicle for college kids and irresponsible
middle-agers alike.

By Thomas_Crowne:
posted on 21-8-2006

Windsor, Cleveland - either way you had a gem! :tu

By Thomas_Crowne:
posted on 22-8-2006

... Quote:

Originally posted by Thomas_Crowne
I didn't take it the wrong way the first time, Flyboy! If I hadda, I woulda sent you a private message. Seems maybe I was either not over the top
enough or have some other fault with my goof-o-transducer if you thought I was truly indignant.

Oh Shiess mann! :ws

... Quote:

Touareg, huh? They are very nice-looking and I hear they handle very well for an SUV.

I dont own it, I just drive it, sad thing I know!
BTW, the nice-looking car is not so nice with your wallet as it drinks more gas than the Germans drink beer!
17mi/gal -- how about that ??

... Quote:

If I ever get another new vehicle, it'll be more along the lines of the Honda Element

You should check out the Range rover too, though it looks boxy its real foxy. ( terrible line!:sc ) Its suspension is rated one of the best and it
comes with a half decent engine. Not bad with the gasoline too.
Thus spake the injuneer!;)

By IAF:
posted on 24-8-2006

Is that the one with the controlled descent technology?

You just put it into gear and stear and it decends hill sides by itself, by automatically applying brakes to stop skidding.

Here is a famous Top Gear (the most awesome car show in the world) episode where someone (who's name excapes me but is a great presenter) drives a
Discovery up a scottish mountain.

I heard him say that afterwards a helicopter picked him up and he left the car on the top for the cameramen to bring back down.

When he got home he realise he still had the keys for the car in his pocket :)

So all the cameramen were stuck on the top of a Scottish hill in a vehicle with no keys to drive down :)